For car-vestibttml-biaphragm



n f W..P.MURPHY. BUFFER SPRING FOR CAKVESTIBULE DIAPHRAGM FAC E PLATES. APPLICATION FILED NOV. I6. 19|6. 1,303,364.

' Patented May 13, 1919 yTo all whom t may concern:

tion between the cars.

wALTEnr. MURPHY, or oIiIcAeo, ILLINOIS.

BUFFER-SPRING- IEOR GAReVESTIBULE-DIAPHRAGM FACE-PLATES.

l Specification of Letters Ilatent.` l

y Patented May 13, 191e.

Application led November 16, 1916. Serial No; 131,624.

Be it known that I, WALTER l?. MURPHY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buffer-Springs for Car-Vestibule-Diaphragm Face-l?late`s, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to improvements in buffer springs for vestibule diaphragm faceplates and particularly to the general type in which semi-elliptical leaf springs are employed to force the upper part of one faceplate against the face plate of an adjoining vestibule and to return the face plate to its normal position parallel with the end wall of the car after the cars of the train, in rounding a curve, have come back into alinement. It is customary to secure the center portion of these springs to the diaphragm face-plate and to retain the master leaf of the spring in sliding relation with the end wall of the car. though inconvenient and not as desirable, to reverse the position of the springs so that its ends would bear against the face-plate and its middle portion be attached to the end of the car. If some arrangement of this sort is not employed, the friction between the face-plates is likely to prevent them from being returned to their normal position when displaced by a change in the angular posi- In devices of the above character, the engagement of the end or ends of the springs with `the retaining means are usually of such a character that a lateral displacement of one face-plate with respect to the other is likely to produce a severe strain of the buffer spring. The vibration of the extremities of such springs against the retaining means is constant, due to movementof the diaphragm plates back and forth,l up and down, and sidewise resulting from the inequalties of the road bed and other causes. y y

These constant vibrations tend to` wear `down and weaken the spring and also to wear out the retaining devices.

The present invention relates particularly to certain improvements, the purpose of `It would be possible,

which is to obviate this somewhat objec` tionable feature of the original construction. The Invention consists in the new and im- `proved constructions, devices and arrangements to be hereinafter describedli and claimed, for carrying out the above `stated objects and such other incidental objects as will appear from the following description of the invention as embodied in a preferred construction. I

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of the ends of two railway cars coupled up one to the other, the face-plates of the vestibuled diaphragms of which are furnished with the spring and its attachments constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figw2, a `front elevation of one end of the spring showing the retaining means providing the sliding engagement between the end of the spring and the car;7and

" Fig. 3, a sectional `plan on line 3-4-3 of Fig. 2. f

`Like characters of reference indicate like parts inthe several figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, the numerals `l() designate the end wallsof` two vestibuled railway cars, the vestibules of which are indicated at 11, 11 and are provided with the usual face-plates 12, 12. `The upper portion of each face-plate 1s engaged by a spring which preferably is a compound, semielliptical spring 13 rigidly secured -at its Vmiddle portion to the faceplate by means indicated generally by numeral 14. My present invention is not concerned with the Ineansby secured to the faceplate so that this device which the center of the spring is neednot be described in detail.

On the end wall `of the car adjacent each lextremity of spring 13 isa retaining bracket `part of the master leaf of the springbeing `down upon itself as and formed with a v J ection.

between rollers 19 on one side and roller 20 on the other. The end of the spring is preferably bent inwardly between the rollers 19, 19 as shown.

To reinforce the extremity of the spring against lbeing weakened by attrition, it is provided with a reinforcing and rubbing element 22 on the side of the spring bearing against rollers 19. Preferably there is a slight clearance between the spring and p roller 20 so that this side of the spring does nothave vas Amuch wear upon it as the side bearing upon rollers 19.` Preferably this reinforcing and rubbing element is an integral of the spring, the end bent over and vfolded shown. At the same time the Ahook or stop-pro'ection 23 is formed. This stop-projection lis adapted to engage with the outer roller 18 when the diaphragm face-plate is displaced t'o a considerable extent-'from its normal position. The engagement produces a strain of the spring which tends to return the face-plate to its normal position. e

While I have described my invention in .certain preferred embodiments, it will be understood that slight and unimportant modifications might be made without departure v'rom the invention. Therefore I do not wish the invention to be considered as limited to the precise constructions and arrangements shown except so far as the claims are so limited.

I claim:

l. In combination with the end wall and diaphragm face-plate of a vestibuled railway car, of a leaf spring secured to kone of rthe aforesaid structural elements of the car,

and retaining means for the end of the spring arranged kon the other of said car elements and comprising rollers arrangedy on opposite lsides of the end of the spring.

2. In combination with the end wall'and vdiaphragm face-place of a vestibuled railway car, of a'leaf spring secured to one of the aforesaid structural elements of the car, and retaining means for the end of the spring arranged on the other of saidxcar elements and comprising a pair of rollers on one side of the spring and a single roller 'on vthe other side thereof at a point between'the aforesaid rollers.

3. In combination with the end wall and diaphragm face-plate of a vestibuled railway car, of a -leaf spring secured to one of the aforesaid structural elements of the car stop-projection at its eX- tremity, and retaining means for said eX- tremity of the springy arranged on the other of said car elements and 'comprising rollers v on opposite sides of the spring, one of which is adapted to Ibe engaged'by -said stop-pro- .theaforesaid structural elements of the car and formed with a stop-projection at its extremity, and retaining means for said eX- tremity of the spring arranged on the other of said car elements and comprising a pair of rollers on one side of the spring, one of which is adapted to be engaged by said stopprojection and a roller on the other side of the spring at a point between said first named rollers.

5. In combination with the end wall and diaphragm face-plate of a vestibuled railway car, of a leaf spring secured to one of the aforesaid structural elements of the car, and retaining means for the end of the spring arranged on the other of said ear elements and comprising a channel-shaped bracket provided with a plurality of rollers between which the end of the spring extends.

6. In combination with the end wall and diaphragm' face-plate of a `vestibuled railway car, of a leaf spring secured to one of the aforesaid structural elements of the car, and retaining means for the end of the spring arranged on the other of said car elements and comprising a channel-shaped bracket provided with a plurality of rollers between which the end of the spring eX- tends, the latter being formed with a stopprojection to engage one of said rollers In combination with the end wall and diaphragm face-plate of a vestibuled railway car, of a leaf spring secured to one of the aforesaid structural elements of the car, retaining means on said other car element with which the end of the spring has a sliding bearing, and a reinforcing and rubbing element on the end of the spring engaging said retaining means which is formed integrally with the spring.

8. In combination with the end wall and diaphragm face-plate of a vestibuled railway car, of a leaf spring secured to one of the aforesaid structural elements of the car, and retaining means on said other car element with which the end of the spring has a sliding bearing; the end of the spring being bent over and folded back upon itself to provide a reinforcing and rubbing strip.

9. In combination with the end wall and diaphragm face-pl-ate of a vestibuled railway car, of a leaf spring secured to one of the aforesaid structural elements of the car, and retaining means on said other car element with which the end of the spring has a sliding bearing; the end of the spring being bent'over and folded back upon itself to provide a stop-projection and a reinforcing and rubbing strip.

10. In combination -with theiend wall and diaphragm face-plate of a vestibuled railrollers against which Jche spring bears, the

Way car, of a compound, semi-elliptical leaf ends of the master leaf of the s ring being spring secured at its middle to the diabent and folded down upon the od)T of the phragm face-plate, and retaining devices on leaf to reinforce the ends of the spring and 10 5 the car providing a'sliding bearing),I for the provide stop-projections.

ends of the spring comprising a plurality of WALTER P. MURPHY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. G. 

